Providing broadcast and subscription television, or other programming content via a transmission medium, to users generally involves a complicated, multilayer system. In a terrestrial broadcast television system, for example, users in a local market area generally receive the terrestrial program signal from a local television broadcast station. This local broadcast station may create its own programming content for transmission to users, it may transmit prerecorded content, or it may retransmit content received from another transmission source.
FIG. 1A displays a commonly employed scheme for broadcasting a program signal from a location, such as a sporting event 100, to a subscriber or consumerwatching the event from a cable network. An on-site facility 110 generally records the event and converts the recording (whether analog or digital, and regardless of media) into one or more digital program signals, which are relayed to a national broadcast network 115. This network, in turn, distributes the digital program signals to its local affiliates, e.g., local affiliate 140. This distribution may be made through terrestrial or satellite broadcasts. Further, the national network may add national commercials to the program signal in appropriate places. Next, the local affiliate transmits the program signal either via a terrestrial transmitter 170, a fiber optic cable, via a satellite, or across a cable network to a local headend 150. The subscriber or consumer then receives the broadcast from the headend or antenna, as appropriate for the consumer's system.
When sending syndicated programs, national networks may sell commercials between programming segments for their entire signal footprint, i.e., all of North America, at once. These commercials are transmitted as part of the national network satellite feed and are eventually received, after retransmission by the local broadcast station, by every user viewing that programming on the local affiliate channel. For example, NBC could sell a commercial spot for “Tide®” detergent to appear at a certain time during an episode of “Friends” on a Thursday night. NBC would insert the “Tide®” detergent commercial between segments of the “Friends” episode, and uplink the combined entertainment and commercial programming to a satellite for transmission to local broadcast station affiliates, that in turn transmit the programming to the viewing users in the market.
Usually, the national networks do not sell all of the advertising space available during national network programming. In fact, by contract, some of the advertising space is reserved for insertion of local advertising by the local broadcast station affiliates. Because the national feed is received for retransmission by the local broadcast station affiliate, the local affiliate can insert local commercials in the remaining space regardless of whether the national network programming is immediately retransmitted to the local market or recorded for later transmission.
Many national networks also broadcast major sporting and entertainment events, which are typically viewing in a region through a local affiliate's cable, terrestrial, or satellite broadcast without requiring a premium subscription. For example, the Super Bowl is generally filmed by a national network, such as FOX, transmitted via satellite to local affiliates, and rebroadcast from the local affiliate to the surrounding market.
However, many such marquee events are simultaneously offered in a premium format having additional features not readily available to consumers watching the standard broadcast. This premium format may include multiple camera angles, exclusive interviews, facts and trivia about the event and its history, and other data streams originating at the event and bundled together. Further, the premium format may offer interactivity to the subscriber, permitting him or her to retrieve information from the Internet related to the event, respond to on-screen questions or surveys, participate in games linked to the event, and so forth. Often, the premium format is marketed on a subscriber basis, requiring a consumer to purchase the premium format and tune to a specific channel to watch it. Generally, each of the data streams is available for a subscriber to switch between at his or her leisure, thus permitting the subscriber greater flexibility and the ability to see those portions of an event of most interest to him or her. The broadcast of an event in this format and having multiple selectable data streams is referred to herein as an “customized event.”
A commonly used method for transmitting a customized event is shown in FIG. 1B. The on-site facility 110 captures the event 100 via multiple data inputs, each of which are transmitted to a national network as a digital program signal. However, rather than transmitting the program signals (with or without inserted national commercials) to a local affiliate, the national network typically multiplexes the various program signals into a single data stream, which is then sent across a satellite to a facility capable of further digitizing, compressing, and distributing the data stream, illustratively facility 130. One example of such a facility is AT&T's “headend in the sky” (HITS), located at the AT&T Digital Media Center (ADMC) in Denver, Colo. Generally, HITS 130 then relays the processed data stream through one or more satellite relays to a plurality of cable network headends 150. Each headend 150 is then responsible for transmitting the customized event to the subscribers 160 serviced by that headend. Accordingly, the national network generally provides a nationwide customized event feed to subscribers without any intervention by its local affiliates.
Although customized events are popular and widely available, their format does create several problems for broadcasters and local affiliates. When customized events are transmitted across a satellite or cable network to a subscriber, they generally bypass the local and regional affiliates completely and are directly transmitted nationwide via a satellite or cable network broadcast. Accordingly, because the national network makes the customized event available on a national level without intervention or relaying by its local affiliates, local content commercials are rarely, if ever, inserted into the customized event data stream. Local and regional advertisers unfortunately cannot join a potentially lucrative market capable of reaching many subscribers in their immediate area. These same local advertisers further may lose viewers who would normally watch a non-enhanced event to the enhanced version thereof, again reducing the overall impression made by a local advertisement.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system for inserting local or regional content commercials into a national digital data transmission.